Flashback"They've got the van," Maj whispered. He sounded furious."Ven ruined it anyway." Raj was tense but willing to scrape a bit of humor off the underside of the situation even as it ground them into the asphalt of life.Venessa didn't say anything. She clutched the crinkly packages to her chest, willing herself not to sneeze as the hedge leaves tickled her nose. Just because Mom had allergies didn't mean she had to suddenly develop them right now. At least I've got clean underwear, she thought frantically. Along with hats, sunglasses, and scissors, which were to help them travel from hub to hub without being recognized by Them; all these items seemed suddenly pointless now that their only means of transportation was being swarmed over by twenty uniformed agents. She tried to hold her breath. They were a stone's throw away from the garage. Five seconds sooner, and the agents would have caught them as well..."How do we know she didn't call them?" Maj was demanding in the same high-i
Hunter's Mark - Chapter 13He woke a long, long time later, to firelight.At first he merely watched the reflections dancing before his eyes, without trying to understand what they were. They were. That was enough.Then the mustiness of the air hit his consciousness and he panicked. He flailed, finding his eyes weighted down by some soft, heavy cloth. There were probably rats nesting in it. His foot hit something hard that fell over with a clatter, like the clink of chains. The room swayed like the hold of a ship.A rapid patter of footsteps. A door flung open, blinding him with sunlight, but not before he caught a glimpse of flying hair, brown waves burning orange in the sunlight."What's the matter?"It was her. Strange, to think he knew her voice. Even with his eyes squeezed shut, she seemed to be speaking from a sea of brilliant red. He flopped one arm over his face, blocking the fiercest of the light."Oh -- I'm sorry." She shut the door. Cool darkness descended. All was firelight again, except now he knew
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